It is an honor and a privilege to announce the admission of Attorney Heather D. Lee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Attorney Lee represents insureds and beneficiaries in pursuit of wrongfully delayed and denied life insurance claims, as well as homeowners, renters and other property insurance claims, life insurance beneficiary disputes and interpleader actions.

The Law Offices of Heather D. Lee serve clients in the States of New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. Attorney Lee looks forward to representing the firm and her clients in the Eastern District of New York. She is also admitted to practice in federal court in the Northern District of Florida and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The Life & Property Insurance Law Offices of Heather D. Lee is now serving clients throughout the States of Colorado and Florida. If you are an insured or beneficiary whose life insurance proceeds are being withheld during a difficult time, let us handle the life insurance company so that you can focus on recovering, and on your family.

We are proud to announce that the Life & Property Insurance Law Offices of Heather D. Lee is now serving New York. Founder and life insurance attorney Heather D. Lee visited Albany this week to attend the Supreme Court of New York’s admission ceremony.

The more we expand, the greater number of people we can protect against wrongfully delayed and denied insurance claims. If your life or property insurance claim has been delayed or denied, the Law Offices of Heather D. Lee may be able to assist you. We provide free consultations on all potential cases, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by contacting us.

The nation’s largest life insurance companies are feeling the heat as some states investigate wrongful insurance practices, particularly with respect to locating beneficiaries after an insured has died. In fact, it is estimated that tens of thousands of life insurance beneficiaries have been deprived of approximately $1 billion (or more) in unclaimed proceeds. Many of the life insurance companies currently under fire continue to claim that it is the sole responsibility of the beneficiary to notify the company of an insured’s death.

Life insurance beneficiaries often do not know a policy exists, however, and may not be in the best position to find out. Sometimes beneficiaries know about a loved one’s policy but do not know which life insurance company to contact and are unable to locate the policy documents. Even worse, life insurance companies may mislead a beneficiary who does not have a copy of the policy and deter them from filing of a claim. When thousands of policies go unclaimed every year, insurance companies just sit on the money.

But a life insurance company does not know when an insured has died, right? Wrong. State probes revealed that these companies have routinely checked the Social Security Administration’s ‘Death Master File’ for decades to discontinue annuity payments. Until recently, life insurance companies never used the same source to notify beneficiaries of unclaimed policies.

In the past several months, multi-state settlement agreements have been reached with leading life insurance companies, including Prudential, John Hancock, and Metropolitan Life. The States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Colorado, New York, California, and Florida are among the leaders of these probes. As a condition of the agreements, participating life insurance companies will be required to improve their practices and make better attempts to locate the beneficiaries of unclaimed policies. The problem with locating past unpaid beneficiaries, though, remains.

The issue that state regulators are not addressing is the inability to locate older records of unpaid policies. Life insurance companies are only required to keep records of “terminated” policies for a certain period of years. Consider that when an insured dies and a life insurance company no longer receives premium payments, the policy will be treated as “terminated.” Years later, because these policies are not properly held as unclaimed property, the records are destroyed, leaving the beneficiary responsible for proving the life insurance company’s liability. Of course, if the beneficiary had such proof, the claim would not have been delayed.

If you believe that an insurance company owes you money, speak to a life insurance attorney about your options right away. The Life & Property Insurance Law Offices of Heather D. Lee can assist you in filing your life insurance claim, demanding that the company pay you immediately and with all applicable interest accrued as a result of the delay. We work aggressively to collect wrongfully delayed and denied life insurance claims and do not charge any fees whatsoever unless we are successful.

At least 5,000 life insurance claims are denied in the United States every year, and even more policies go unclaimed. People are usually surprised to discover that life insurance companies can delay or deny claims for many different reasons. In fact, most people believe that when an insured passes away, the beneficiary receives a payout immediately. Unfortunately, this is too often not the case. Like most businesses, life insurance companies are motivated by profit, having a strong financial incentive to collect premiums but later deny as many life insurance claims as possible, or to delay claims as long as possible.

If a life insurance company has failed to promptly issue payment of your life insurance proceeds, you may have a claim for breach of contract and bad faith insurance practices. Life insurance companies must investigate your claim within a reasonable period of time, usually within sixty (60) days of the claim being filed or in accordance with the life insurance policy terms. An insurance company may attempt to discourage you from hiring a life insurance lawyer by wrongfully delaying your life insurance claim, offering a reduced settlement amount, or making other efforts to avoid paying the full claim.

Some common tactics that life insurance companies will use to wrongfully delay your claim include but are not limited to the following:

Insured’s Death Occurring Within Contestable Period
Hospital Records/Medical Documentation Not Yet Received
Hospital or Medical Provider Refuses to Release Records
Failure to Provide Income Tax Returns
Failure to Provide Non-existent Medical Documentation
Independent Investigation Based on Suspicious Cause of Death
Independent Medical Review to Dispute Evidence
Beneficiary Dispute Based On Divorce
Beneficiary Dispute Based On Suspicious Cause of Death

No matter how badly you need the insurance proceeds, you should never accept a settlement offer without the advice of an experienced life insurance attorney. An offer to settle your claim for a reduced amount may indicate that the insurance company’s reason for delaying or denying your claim is illegitimate.

To discourage beneficiaries from pursuing a wrongfully denied life insurance claim, life insurance companies will mail complex denial letters designed to confuse you. Life insurance companies know that you are likely unfamiliar with the life insurance contract itself, or with your rights as the beneficiary.

Some common tactics that insurance companies will use to wrongfully deny your claim include but are not limited to the following:

Accidental Death Caused by Alcohol/Drug Use or Crime
Accidental Death Not Occurring Within Specific Time/Date
Accidental Overdose Caused by Misuse of Medication
Policy Not Active Due to Death Occurring Prior to Effective Date
Policy Not Active Based on Period of Limited Activity Exclusion
Independent Investigation Based on Suspicious Cause of Death
Insufficient Evidence to Show Heart Attack
Independent Medical Examiner Disputes Evidence
Change In Health After Policy Lapse Due to Nonpayment
Change In Health Condition Prior to Effective Date of Insurance
Handwriting Expert Claims False Application Signature
Failure to Elect and/or Qualify for Employment Coverage
Failure to Convert Employment Coverage to Individual Policy
Insurance Company Not Responsible for Agency Errors
Insured Not Resident of United States on Date of Death
Failure to Properly Change Beneficiary
Policy Lapse Due to Depleted Cash Value

The Life & Property Insurance Law Offices of Heather D. Lee, Esquire are familiar with the various tactics used by life insurance companies to delay and deny claims, and we are experienced in pressuring insurance companies to quickly complete the claims process and pay all proceeds due under their life insurance policies. If your insurance claim is being wrongfully delayed or denied, Contact Us for your free case evaluation today.

If an insured passes away prior to a life insurance policy’s effective date but after the first premium payment, the insurance company will likely deny the beneficiary’s life insurance claim. This makes sense to many of us, and to many state legislators, as the application for life insurance must generally be approved before an insurance company accepts the insurance risk.

In some states, though, temporary or interim coverage is recognized when insurance companies collect premiums on the application date but fail to clearly explain the delay in life insurance coverage. In Pennsylvania, Heather D. Lee, Esquire recently won an administrative appeal after a major life insurance company denied a claim based on the alleged “inactive” status of a policy. The insured, who suffered an unexpected heart attack less than one week before the policy’s “effective date,” was never properly notified of any delay in coverage even though the life insurance company eagerly accepted the first premium payment. With the assistance of an experienced life insurance lawyer, the insured’s policy was reinstated and the claim properly reviewed and paid.

Under these circumstances, an insurance company is still entitled to conduct a standard review of the application upon reinstatement because the insured’s death will have occurred within two (2) years of the policy’s effective date. For more information on how a life insurance attorney can help you with a similar or other life insurance denial, visit www.life-insurancelawyer.com and www.life-insurance-law-firm.com, or Contact Us at (800)403-5710 for a free claim evaluation.

Following multiple and habitual violations of Rhode Island’s Small Employer Health Insurance Availability Act since 2004, MEGA Life & Health Insurance Company has reached a settlement with the State’s Health Insurance Commissioner for more than $2 million. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, MEGA Life & Health must pay $2.3 million in restitution to approximately 5,500 self-employed Rhode Islanders due to charging excessive membership fees and premiums, wrongfully denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, and failing to provide equal coverage among its eligible health insurance customers, among other violations.

Rhode Island is not the only state that has accused MEGA Life & Health Insurance Company of violating state laws enacted to regulate the industry and to protect consumers against bad faith insurance practices. In 2008, HealthMarkets, Inc. and its subsidiaries [MEGA Life & Health Insurance Company, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee, and Chesapeake Life Insurance Company] settled a multi-state bad faith suit in the amount of $20 million for wide-spread and abusive practices. Many states and individual policyholders have also pursued independent actions against HealthMarkets and its affiliates.

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Heather D. Lee, Esquire

began her legal journey at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, where she served as Articles Editor of the Rule of Law Journal, Intern at the International Human Rights Law Institute, and Law Clerk for CAIR's civil rights department. Heather's motivation for becoming an attorney was to help people in need, but she quickly discovered an equal passion for contract law.

In her final year of study, she accepted a summer associate position and later full-time position with a law firm in Philadelphia, where she handled denied life insurance cases. Heather is now grateful to have a multi-state law practice recognized for work in life insurance law, collecting delayed or denied insurance claims, beneficiary disputes, property damage, and consumer protection law. Heather is licensed to practice law in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.